The present disclosure relates to the field of batteries and battery systems. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to integrally formed terminals for batteries or cells (e.g., lithium-ion batteries).
It is known to provide batteries or cells for use in vehicles such as automobiles. For example, lead-acid batteries have been used in starting, lighting, and ignition applications. More recently, hybrid electric vehicles are being developed which utilize a battery (e.g., a lithium-ion or nickel-metal-hydride battery) in combination with other systems (e.g., an internal combustion engine) to provide power for the vehicle.
It is known that a battery generally includes two terminals (e.g., a positive terminal and a negative terminal, etc.) through which the battery is electrically connected to other batteries or other components. A battery may have terminals that protrude from the battery surface and/or have a casing that acts as a terminal. These terminals are provided as separate elements that are coupled to the battery (e.g., by welding to a battery cover). This adds an additional step to the manufacturing process, as well as increased cost. The integrity of this weld or other coupling mechanism may present issues over the life of the battery.
Battery systems or assemblies include a number of batteries or cells electrically coupled to each other and/or to other elements of the system. Such cells are conventionally coupled together using conductive members (e.g., bus bars). Such conductive members may be welded to the terminals of the batteries or secured using fasteners. It would be advantageous to eliminate the need for such conductive members to remove the additional cost and manufacturing time associated with such components (e.g., to reduce the number of parts in the battery system and to eliminate the need to handle and assemble the components during manufacturing).
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a battery that includes one or more terminals that are integrally formed with the body or cover of the battery. It would also be advantageous to configure the terminals so they can be directly coupled to terminals of adjacent batteries.